11th June, 2023
By Mateen Badru
Marriage woes and supremacy battles amongst celebrities dominated social media trends in what can be described as “the week of battle of egos.”
Our reporter while keeping up with weekly trends on social media observed that the online space was full of gist ranging from celebrity marriage woes to heated arguments over which artiste is bigger and more relevant.
It could be hard to keep up with all the drama but a search on “new cats” will give an idea of how the social media space went gaga during the week.
On Sunday, June 4, the week kicked off with a video of Nigerian actor, Yul Edochie and his second wife, Judy Austin, having a heated argument.
Yul, who was angry over a video posted online by Judy, was seen telling her that she was pushing him to the wall and that he would do something drastic if she continued.
“I will do something drastic. I am trying so hard to control myself. I will do something drastic. If I take the action that is getting into my head. You are getting me upset, believe me.
“I don’t see why I would tell you not to do something, after all the arguments on that day, you still went ahead to do that thing that I said you shouldn’t do. Why? Why? You are pushing me to the wall. You won’t like the outcome.
“I have the right to tell you don’t do this thing and you are supposed to listen to me. You posted it for me to see what I am going to do,” he said.
Judy in response asked how she was pushing him to the wall and that she posted the video as a retaliation for a video Yul had earlier posted on his Facebook page.
Fans and colleagues who acted as “online in-laws” to the couple subsequently took turns to take sides over who had the right or not to post a video online.
Just like an invite or a request for opinions from the “online in-laws”, Sophia Momodu, the mother of Davido’s first child, Imade, on Monday revealed on her Snapchat, her intention to change their daughter’s surname.
Sophia during an Instagram live session with fans said that her worst fear which is raising a child alone has finally become her reality.
Sophia, on her Snapchat disclosed that she had been playing the role of mum and dad to Imade, sayin, “I can’t wait to change my daughter, Imade’s last name. I still think Momodu is… as I’m Mom and Dad.”
“Online in-laws” as usual stepped in to sympathize while some challenged her decision saying Imade’s father, popular Afrobeat singer, David Adeleke, loved his daughter like no other.
On Tuesday, the battle was between Nigerian actress, Iyabo Ojo and the Lagos State Inland Revenue Service (LIRS), after the actress received a letter stating that she was to make about N18 million tax payment for the year 2021.
The actress who accused the agency of lacking transparency went on Instagram live to query how the figures were arrived at while she shared several receipts of tax payments.
“How much do they even pay an actress, and how much do they pay us per set? How many movies do I do in a year now?
“That’s because they do not pay well. Okay, as an actress or an influencer, how do they come up with these prices that they charge? How do they come up with such an outrageous fee because the amount is too much,” she said.
While some fans and colleagues commended her for speaking out and showing evidence of tax payments, some attributed the issue to the part she played in the last general elections.
On Wednesday, Heidi Korth, the estranged wife of Adesina Adeleke, popularly called Sina Rambo, son of Osun State governor, Ademola Adeleke, hinted on giving out her diamond wedding rings.
Korth, in a video posted on her Instagram page while confirming her divorce from Sina Rambo also posted their chats which showed that the couple who had a daughter together are not in good terms.
She subsequently posted a video of herself dancing to a song titled “Single Again” by Harmonise.
It was, however, a double dose of battle on Thursday which involved heavyweights of the Nigerian music industry in one category and the lightweights in the other.
The battle began after an interview surfaced online where Davido said he and Wizkid paved the way for other artistes before the “new cats” came in.
“Everybody knows…I was one of the first. I and Wizkid blew it up and it feels good seeing the new cats coming up, like Burna Boy, Rema, Fireboy, Mayorkun, you know a lot of new cats coming, killing it, Asake who was on my album.
“So, yes, I think the future of Afrobeat is in good hands.” he said.
As some fans criticised Davido for putting Afrobeat Singer, Damini Ogulu, popularly known as Burna Boy in the “new cats” category, others applauded him for the interview.
Burna Boy’s sister, Nissi, subsequently responded to Davido’s interview when she shared a video from Burna Boy’s concert on her Instagram account with the caption, “New cats dey face their hustle”.
Also commenting on the “new cats” topic, Davido’s cousin, Adebayo Adeleke, popularly known as B. Red, in an interview said; “Burna Boy, the first time I met Burna Boy, he was in Port Harcourt, running after me and Davido’s car, saying ‘oh my God, I love you Davido.”
While The social media space was looking forward to a response from Burna Boy, Nigerian singers, Adekunle Temitope known as Small Doctor and Habeeb Okikiola known as Portable engaged in an online battle.
This supremacy battle over who is the king of the street had lingered for a while but became a full-blown social media war when Small Doctor said in an interview that Portable was his boy.
“There is something called self-acclaimed, and if Portable says he is the king of the street, then he is. Portable has been my boy.
“He called me out because I once told him he had to do a body wash because his skin was not skinning (okay). But, he ran away, saying that they wanted to use packaging to kill him, ” Small Doctor said.
In response, Portable said “Street brother wants to use my name to trend. Do not worry, sit down there and be playing. Street brother that is begging for money. He is still advising me after collecting my hundred dollars.
“You cannot run my race. Street brother has washed all his body and is still burnt. Don’t worry,, keep buying cream while I am bagging endorsements,” he said.
On Friday, in what seems like a “supremacy battle” over who could break the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking hours, a Chef in Ekiti set a target of 120 hours for herself.
The Chef, Damilola Adeparusi, began 120 hours cooking marathon in Oye Local Government Area in Ekiti, barely five weeks after Hilda Baci achieved the same feat with 100 hours in Lagos.
The social media space has been divided following comments that Chef Damilola could have waited for Hilda to at least get a response from the Guinness World Record Organistions for her last performance before embarking on hers.
In her support, her fans said “the sky is big enough for everyone to fly” and that Chef Dammy wasn’t doing it to take the shine off Hilda’s record but just to display her passion for cooking.
Dominating trends in the sports scene on Saturday was a supremacy battle on which football team would win the UEFA Champions League Finals between Manchester City and Inter Milan.
After an intensed 45 minutes first half, a second half goal from Rodrigo earned Manchester City the winner of the 2023 Champions League final for Pep Guardiola’s team against Inter at the Ataturk Stadium in Istanbul.
With this win, Pep Guardiola becomes the first manager to win a treble with two different teams (Barcelona in 2008-09 and Manchester City in 2022-23).
Manchester City is also claiming the European treble for the first time in the club’s history and the first time by an English club since Manchester United achieved the same feat in 1999.